High Altitude, heat, tuning and intake/exhaust

BlackZeda

Heh, tell me about it. I had a supercharged Tacoma before my Z and when I traveled down to sea-level I would almost tear the tires off the first time I started from a stop being used to the lesser power at altitude. It is pretty dramatic. I am also suprised how well my Zeda does when going over mountain passes where I know most cars will hit a wall.

I have a sneaking suspicion that FI cars have a huge advantage at altitude, maybe even overcoming a large majority of the power-loss, but I would have to look into that.

It looks like (like me) your first mod will be an oil cooler, which I assume is an attempt to tackle the heat issues. What is your feeling about CAI and CBE? Do you think those will help the Z breath better?

I have had one tuner tell me that the Z will "adjust itself" to the altitude, but conversely the service manager at the dealership and another tuner said that a tune would help significantly. What is your opinion?

Thanks for the reply! And by all means, I will let you know what effect my mods will have regarding these issues.